Penn Manor's Greta Lindsley, the 2011 District 3-AAA Cross Country champion, gave Clahane quite a battle for two miles in Wednesday's district meet, held at Hersheypark's Parkview Course.

Mady Clahane, Cumberland Valley, leads the pack while Penn Manor's Greta Lindsley gives chase at the start of the girls AAA 5k race at the 2013 PIAA District-3 Cross Country Championships at Hershey, Pa. Clahane won for the second year in a row with a winning time of 18:36. (Mark Pynes/mpynes@pennlive.com)

Then came the hills and a dominating surge from Clahane. The rest was history.

Clahane won a district title for the second straight year, crossing the finish line in 18:36 to finish 23 seconds in front of Lindsley.

You've got to give it to the Comets' senior though, she hung with the heavily-favored Clahane for two miles. It was an achievement that initially made Clahane nervous and eventually made Lindsley proud.

"I was really concerned after two miles," Clahane said. "I thought oh my gosh, she's right behind me, this is going to be an interesting race!"

"I did better than I thought I was going to do," Lindsley said. "The fact that I hung around her as long as I did, I couldn't be happier."

Shortly after the second mile marker, with Lindsley just a second behind, Clahane turned up the intensity on the hills. That was the turning point in the race.

"I know I'm strong on the hills and this course has so many," Clahane said. "I thought if I could blow past her on that hill, it would make her question herself. .. We were definitely pushing each other and it made us run a lot faster."

While Clahane and Lindsley were battling for an individual title, Chris Monheim's Chambersburg Trojans were proving themselves as the best team in the district.

Chambersburg scored the team title with a score of 152, just one point ahead of Wilson. From Courtney Group (fourth place, 19:19) all the way to Mara Leary (76th, 21:17), the Trojans needed every single finish they got. Natalie Holder (eighth, 19:38), Alexandra Orr (18th, 20:00) and Cassie Essis (56th, 21:00) also factored into Chambersburg's championship finish.

Monheim's teams have finished on the losing end of close title races in the past, making this championship feel that much sweeter.

"Winning the team title, it's a great lesson to teach these kids," Monheim said. "It shows them that every finish counts, every pass you make counts. It's sweet to win one like this and hard to lose. I feel bad for Wilson."